2025-12-27: Enter Etsuko
- Log: Enter Etsuko
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Ryuji Sakamoto, Ichika Kawase, Tsubasa's mother Etsuko Seki
- Where: Port Island Station (amongst other locations)
- OOC Date: 2025-12-27
- IC Date: Sat, Sep 01 2012
- Summary: After catching a movie at Screen Shot, Tsubasa, Ryuji, and Ichika have the worst random encounter they could: Tsubasa's mother, who works part-time at the nearby Rafflesia. She tries to convince Tsubasa to come home, though she doesn't use that name, insisting that it's not safe for them to find their own way with housing and they need to make peace with their family. She's scandalised out of shot when Ryuji reveals what their relationship really is, but Tsubasa bolts into the Back Alleys... only to immediately get into a fight with a jumpy punk who, post-Eiji, is packing a cleaver to defend the girls back here. It's only after they're able to escape that -- and Ryuji is able to witness Ichika operating as the Thorn Boss, with Tsubasa under her -- that they're able to find a place to breathe and take stock of the situation. Trouble is... Tsubasa doesn't want their father's heart changed. What are they to do?
- Content warning: Child abuse, domestic violence, misgendering/deadnaming, homophobia, disability used as a vehicle for abuse, references to drug use
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Once Tsubasa and Ichika got home... well, the first thing they did after unloading Ichika's camping gear was have a nap, because it was a reasonably long drive and they were out Doing Things for two days straight. (Well, they left in the afternoon and came back at lunch, but that rounds up to two days.) Once they were done with that, though, it was time to head out for a late-afternoon date with Ryuji! ... who is coming to Port Island, because, like, they're too buggered to travel a long time right after going camping. He's a considerate guy like that.
Port Island Station is a short monorail jaunt out for Ichika and her guest; it's a longer ride from central Tokyo, but that's fine. Today's movie -- Ichika chose it! -- is Monday Love, a tense literary drama about rival businesspeople who fall in love over negotiations. It's the sort of thing that includes romance, but doesn't foreground it beyond the plot of the wider story. By the time they get out of the theatre, it's end-of-business-day; the sun is setting, though it hasn't quite sunk under the horizon, painting the sky a blazing spread of colour.
The stairs leading up to the station partition the great plaza into two halves; on one side, Screen Shot advertises its nighttime movies for a few audience. In the other, a flower store's shutting up shop for the day...
... and Tsubasa doesn't notice a flurry of movement from that side of the staircase, as they start climbing it with their partner and boyfriend-of-their-partner-they-need-a-word-for-this-they'll-workshop-it-later. "Man, ain't expected that shit with th' letter opener," they remark, as they clomp up the stairs. "That was sick."
Of course they'd go nuts over the part of the movie where someone got stabbed.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji is pretty banged up after last night. He isn't dying but he definitely has a few bandages on his face. He was also tired. In short, Ryuji looks more dangerous than cute today.
When asked why, Ryuji only remarks something about not messing with the "French".
He yawns as they get out of the movie, smiling a little as he remembers the plot. "Maaaan, that was kinda corny. I wish it would've done more with the love story. It just kinda felt there and I didn't really get anything from it."
He turns his head to look at Ichika, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What did you think? I hope I didn't trash one of your favs."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika definitely needed a nap. That was a drive! But now, she's out again, and Ichika is dressed in cargo pants and a t-shirt that exposes her midriff, as is meant to be the case. Sneakers! But she's pretty happy with how it went, overall. She got to spend time with Tsubasa and Ryuji...
"The letter opener was really tense," ichika agrees. Earlier, she worried over Ryuji, but now that's done with. Apparently the Frenched are not to be trifled with.
"Awww," Ichika says. "I liked it; it was a nice addition, though the real draw was l.ike, the business world. Is it really like that?"
It's kind of rhetorical. A laugh at Ryuji, though. "It's cool," she says. "I wouldn't call it a fave but it was definitely worth sitting through and paying attention, for me."
A beat, "But then, I'd have been happy just to be out with you two..."
Ichika doesn't notice movement either!
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa's in board shorts and a checkered tank top which also bares their midriff... or, well, the black and blue neon binder beneath their clothes, anyway. Their hair is magenta and green today, which one might have thought would have disguised them.
They'd gone like 'hey dude you cool?' when they saw Ryuji's bandages, but they hadn't pressed when he'd demurred. Sometimes you get your ass handed to you, it's polite not to make a big deal about it.
"What?" They grin, instead. "You reckon makin' it sappier woulda made it less corny? C'mon, man," they shake their head. "Anyway, was totally accurate. Like. When they realised they could bring the Black Firm down with their end-of-year reports, like... that shit jus' happens, man."
How would Tsubasa know lame stuff like that?! Maybe THEY'RE the corny one!!!
"It was good, tho'," Tsubasa assures Ichika. "Like, went out campin' to fix our heads after what happened back there, but we wanted to like, do somethin' together when we got back..."
They pause, though, hearing the loud noise of heels against steps, as someone hurries up behind them. "Tsubaki-chan?" A woman calls, behind them. "Tsubaki-chan!"
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fo02jgeQNA Biz Barclay - Burn Down The Farm
At the top of the stairs, Tsubasa turns --
-- only to get embraced by a middle-aged woman who's a few inches taller than them, owing to the heels.
Etsuko Seki is thin and pretty, and there's as much artifice to her beauty as there is to Tsubasa's fashion -- it's just more socially acceptable. Ichika will note the thick foundation, particularly, across her left cheek; the eyeliner and eyeshadow distracting from dark circles around her eyes. She has the same piercing blue eyes as Tsubasa -- but her hair is brown, bobbed about her shoulders.
"Tsubaki-chan, you're all right!" Etsuko exclaims, as she hugs them tightly. (They stand, frozen, fingers curled slightly at their sides.) "Thank goodness... no one would tell me anything... oh, sweetie, we've been so worried about you... you know you made things quite difficult for us? Oh, but it's fine, sweetie, I'm just glad to see you're okay... are these your little friends?" She releases them, finally, to turn to Ryuji and Ichika. "Oh!" She exclaims, with great relief, looking at Ryuji in particular... and he may note the distance in her smile, as if part of her is far away. "Have you finally found another boyfriend?!"
And Tsubasa hasn't said a single damn word.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Anything for you." Ryuji grins and shrugs his shoulders. "I mean...I 'unno? Would be kinda messed up if it was exactly like that." He rolls his shoulders before groaning a little. Yep, he was going to have to go easier at the gym for a bit.
Ryuji is currently dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt in an outrageous color and black and white checkered pants.
"Or something dude. I mean if you're going to hint at something emotional, you gotta pay it off otherwise why is it even there?" Ryuji sticks his tongue out at Tsubasa before laughing. "Whatever man..."
"Yeah...It's good you two got to go and figure some stuff out." Ryuji responds before stopping as he hears someone in heels approaching. He raises a brow until he hears the name and spots the woman.
Instantly, his face grows stone cold as he knows the woman on sight. Great, it was Seki's mom.
"Look, lady, they don't want to speak to you." Ryuji says evenly. It is methodically even in the way someone talks when they are trying not to snap.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Huh..." End of year reports. That's how it works? "Cool." Anything for her, though--Ichika smiles at Ryuji. "Hmm... lot of things are pretty messed-up, though."
But emotions... Hmmm. Ichika thinks about that. "Maybe we can discuss our feelings a little later then," she starts to tease Ryuji--but--
Ah.
Ichika seizes up a little, her heart going icy when she realizes just who Etsuko is--just when Etsuko says 'Tsubaki-chan'.
She can talk later about their trip; it was really nice. But now--
"Hey, go easy," Ichika says, immediately taking on a peacekeeping role because--
Because she remembers that Tsubasa didn't want Etsuko dead, after all that, and maybe it just tells her what to say.
"He's my boyfriend," Ichika clarifies for Etsuko's sake, and to get Ryuji out of the immediate firing line. "We're all out together."
"Tsubasa-kun," Ichika insists on saying, "Has told me a lot about you."
The foundation at her left cheek...
"Did you hear about me? I'm Kawase."
She tries to get Etsuko's attention, tries to get her to let Tsubasa go, but she's just as tense as Ryuji--she's just better at hiding it.
After all, she's used to having to be 'normal'.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Man, I'm pissed they never paid off that guy who was embezzling funds from the first act. Like he set the chick up to come into that guy's life an' then jus' kinda... vanished? What, we got one line 'bout him gettin' caught? Laaame." Tsubasa, please get invested in normal things.
Unfortunately, there's no room to pick on Tsubasa being a fucking nerd, because they have a family.
"Eh?" Etsuko frowns, to Ryuji, before she looks back to Tsubasa. "Don't tell me you're angry...? You don't need to be, dear. We're not mad any more, I promise, we're just worried... you told your father off in front of that officer enabling you, and now we hear you've gone off to live in a gang house? It's not safe! I've been so worried... oh, after that dreadful business, you go and live in a place like that? There's human trafficking on the news, dear, your mother's so worried about you!"
... did she not know? It's sound confirmation, at least, that this is Tsubasa's mother, just as the resemblance suggests.
"Hanzou-san's not told me much about the company she's keeping," she adds, apologetically, to Ichika. "I'm sure you're a lovely young woman, dear... could it be you like wigs just like my daughter does? Are you one of those rock-and-rollers, too? Just don't enable her delusions like this, please... she's a very delicate girl."
"I -- I ain't --" Tsubasa tries, finally, but that just brings Etsuko's attention back to her.
"I'm afraid we had to make it official," she says, with a sympathetic wince. "After how difficult that Officer Shimizu made our life... the only way we could reach you was by admitting to the authorities that you were a disabled child. Thanks to that, we should be able to protect you a little longer... I just wish you'd told me you'd come back home, Tsubaki-chan. I could have given you your birthday present personally instead of sending it to that place you're living in right now!"
... which means they do know where they're staying.
"Mom..." Tsubasa starts, finally, sounding like they're choking on the mora. "Ya... upsettin' me friends. C'mon..."
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," Etsuko sighs, shaking her head. "I didn't introduce myself, did I...? What a terrible example... I'm Tsubaki-chan's mother," she smiles, to them. "But I'm sure you two would like have a nice date together," she adds, looking between Ryuji and Ichika, as she reaches out to take Tsubasa's hand. "I'm so glad I found her... we'll have dinner at home, dear," she assures Tsubasa, smiling gently. "When your father gets home, we can work everything out..."
And Tsubasa, stricken, falls silent again.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji knew enough of Etsuko to at least know who she really was. He sighs as Ichika needs to play the peacemaker. Ryuji knows she hates that.
Instead, he takes a deep breath and cools his temper some. He didn't really think this needed the blunt approach. Ryuji lets the breath release some of the tension, making him appear more relaxed.
He is learning to be fair.
What is not helping Ryuji? The aforementioned injuries from last night, which probably give Etsuko the idea that Ryuji is the hoodlum type.
So while the blonde looked relaxed, he still looks dangerous.
As Etsuko talks, Ryuji feels that anger build and then relieve itself after he takes another deep breath. He isn't going to hit her but even getting in her face would probably be bad...right?
"Actually, -Tsubasa-, I don't know why you're getting that wrong...are you ok -ma'am-?" Ryuji says that ma'am with a little bit of stink on it, smiling widely as he continues. "See Tsubasa is also dating Ichika...so we're all on a date so tell your husband not to wait up." He winks at Etsuko, expecting his little truth bomb to freak her out. "So how about you give us some privacy?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Tsubasa is such a nerd. Ichika looks at them fondly. It's brief, though, because--family.
That officer 'enabling' them. A gang house. All of this makes Ichika deeply upset. And of course, a mother. A mother who tried to--
(A mother who was hit by her husband just recently, judging by that makeup.)
But Ichika tries to diplomacy it. She tries. "The hair's natural," Ichika counters Etsuko, "But--"
Delusions.
A 'disabled child'. Ichika's eyes widen. "You--"
Ryuji goes for the shock and awe, and Ichika looks to him for a moment, relieved that he's doing something--but she has to, too. Ichika turns back, "Sorry, but we're all busy," she confirms(?). "Maybe later?" she says of dinner, looking to Tsubasa to try to give them the--
No, they're frozen. Just like she was, back then. Which means--
"I need Tsubasa's help with my summer homework," Ichika says suddenly. "We were going to study after this. I really have to insist, I'm seriously counting on it..."
It's a lie. But it might work better.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"E--eh?" Etsuko stares at Ryuji, eyes wide. "But -- but she's a girl -- oh! -- oh no -- no, this won't do, you must end this at once!" She insists, to Tsubasa. "Your father will be beside himself if he hears you're some sort of, of rezubian now! I -- I think I can lie to him, dear, but -- you must stop this nonsense, right now! First you tell me I never had a daughter, now you'll tell me I'll never have a grandson?!" She's tearing up; she's quite upset. "Why do you want to upset your mother so much, sweetie?!"
She looks to Ichika, teary, as she exclaims: "That's what the kids call fooling around, isn't it?! You... you're one of those girls who brought my poor Tsubaki-chan into that subculture! G--gracious, your parents might be fine with you making it so difficult to marry, but it's very cruel for you to mislead my little girl like this, you know?! She's disfigured, she's had so much trouble finding a boy... I had some hope for a while, but then she lost that nice young man she was dating!"
(Hajime. She's talking about Hajime.)
"Don't --" Tsubasa croaks out, as Etsuko begins tugging them towards the monorail station.
"We'll sort all this out," she promises them, over her shoulder. "We just won't tell your father, dear, you're clearly just confused... come, come, we must get home quickly, we need to put dinner on before your father gets home, you know how particular he is about things being ready for him... he'll be so pleased we can call off our efforts to get you back, we can gloss over this very easily, very easily..."
"STOP IT!" Tsubasa yells, as they yank their hand back. "I ain't gon' SEE me father! I don't WANT TO, mom, I hate him!"
Before she can react, they're bolting back down the stairs, off into the alleyways behind Port Island Station where all the rough youth like to gather.
"Ah -- Tsubaki-chan!" Etsuko cries, and the grief in her voice, at least, is quite real. "Come back! Come back, please...!" But Etsuko, in her heels, can't run nearly as fast as Tsubasa... and she does need to get home to dinner. "T--this is your fault!" She lobs at Ichika and Ryuji, vengefully, but she continues hurrying off to the station regardless.
It's fine. It's not the first time she's been crying on the monorail.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji sighs when Etsuko continues to be...herself. His plan to have her get so disgusted she left seems to have backfired. For the moment, he stands back, trying to come up with a plan of action. His last attempt seems to have emboldened her.
But the lines about Ichika get right past his defenses and spike his temper. The delinquent walked toward Etsuko, tilting his head back to make his eyes look down at her. "Lady, I'm being kind but you're really making my partners uncomfortable...-Back- off" He looks like a real thug right now.
And then Tsubasa takes off. Ryuji sighs again, glad that they got out of there.
Still...Now, Ryuji and Ichika are stuck with her. Great.
Ryuji clicks his tongue as the blame is put on Ichika. "Lady, piss off, alright? Come on, Ichika. Lets get out of here. Something stinks."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika is a girl, as it happens, and Etsuko... gets upset. Ichika's hand curls at her side, but not into a fist; it shakes lightly. "I'm not--"
"He wasn't--"
Ichika is tough, but she's used to dealing with teenagers, not women who fall apart on her. 'Their efforts', though.
"Tsubasa--"
The grief is real, but, "She's not important right now," Ichika says to Ryuji, though she is visibly shaken by the entire thing.
She reaches to take Ryuji's hand--and then pulls him towards the back alleys, chasing after Tsubasa.
"Tsubasa!"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa hears something in Ryuji's defence that they don't quite twig to, in the moment, though they certainly register it. But -- Etsuko was indeed pissing off when Ryuji told her to; she continues pissing off after he says to. Perhaps he can count this as a win...?
Back down the stairs, though, down into the alleys --
"Hey, who the fuck you think you are?" Asks a delinquent with a mohawk --
-- and Tsubasa, who, like, is ten varieties of tense right now, just hauls back and punches him right in the face.
Cue the chorus of, "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!", as the Cool Kids behind Port Island Station smell blood in the water...
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji allows himself to get pulled by Ichika, keeping an eye out to make sure they aren't followed. He is glad when he clocks her heading in the opposite direction.
And yes, he does count it as a win because getting one over on shitty adults is HELLA RADICAL !
When they arrive, Ryuji's eyes widen upon seeing Tsubasa punch a punk. He sighs and scratches his head, moving toward the fight. "Break it up! Come on!" He is already sure he is going to get punched for stepping into the middle but what else is he supposed to do.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Who the fuck do they think they are? Well--
Hopefully they're not followed, but Ichika's about to try a gambit.
Ryuji moes to try to break it up, but Ichika has a different plan. Tsubasa is in berserk mode; there's little way to get them out of it, she knows, but maybe--
"TSUBASA!" Ichika calls, "Form the fuck up! Cops are right over there!"
It might cut through the din of calling for fights, and if it doesn't, well...
Ichika's just glad she's not wearing dangly earrings today, because she forms up ready for a fight if anyone comes after Tsubasa from behind.
"Get ready to scatter!" she calls to Ryuji.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Back the fuck off!" One thug barks, palms slamming against Ryuji's chest to keep him out of the fray. "This is between Ripper and whoever this prick is!"
Ichika might need to show Ryuji how it's done. Punching that guy's necessary to get through to their guy.
Tsubasa, though, does hear Ichika issuing commands. "Boss?!" They yelp, which is enough distraction for that Ripper to punch them in the face in turn.
Except, like...
Why do they call this guy Ripp...
oh. Oh, it's because he's pulling out a FUCKING KNIFE.
"Fuck off, prick's got a cleaver!" Tsubasa snaps, as they bolt again; they've stopped carrying their own hidden knife, in their efforts to do less things that will get them charged with crimes, and in any case their dinky little craft knife has nothing on this thing.
Luckily, when the cops do charge in, the first thing they hear is 'prick's got a cleaver', which means they're most focused on descending on poor Ripper and his mohawk... and it also means, luckily, all the punks are pulling a runner now.
Everything's a panic, for the next few moments.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Why didn't he think of that?! Ryuji kinda feels like a tool trying the break it up route. Still, he is sure that this isn't a good head space for Tsubasa to be in. Likewise, a fight wasn't going to help them figure out anything.
Ryuji nods to Ichika as she tells them to get ready to bolt. He feels his legs start to tense. He suddenly wishes he remembered to stretch today.
Then the punk puts their hands on him. Ryuji looks at the spot he was touched, then the punk in question. Ryuji feels his blood boil but he is able to push that anger down.
But all of that is a moot point when the pigs show up. Immediately, Ryuji snatches Ichika's hand and runs toward the direction Tsubasa went. He does his best to hold on but he is fast....especially for someone with a limp.
Once the cops are in the rear view, Ryuji breaths heavily and doubles over. "Ugh...Not on my bingo card for today...."
"I did...my best to...keep up." Ryuji continues to talk through deep breaths, finally catching his breath after a moment. "You see them?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ripper. That's a very encouraging name. But Ichika thought of it because she's been in this kind of situation before; this may be the first time in a while that Ryuji's seen the Thorn Boss, rather than the milder Ichika Kawase of Iwatodai. She isn't dissuaded by Tsubasa being punched; you're gonna get hit if you're in a fight like this. But a knife?
"Shit--"
But Ryuji grabs her hand, and Ichika is surprised--she's used to scattering. But she catches on quick enough, her long legs enough to get her moving with him, even if she's no track star. But--
"You did great," Ichika tells Ryuji, huffing too. "Where... yeah! Over here!"
She quickly drags Ryuji by the hand towards the corner stairwell by the vending machine.
"Tsubasa," she starts, "Let's--Let's hit the monorail. We wanna be out of here. Then..."
Then they've got a lot to talk about.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
A fight MIGHT have helped, man, but this prick had to pull a GOD DAMN CLEAVER! Like, dirty pool, what the fuck?!
(... the punks who hang out behind Port Island might be a little on-edge, you know, after realising why their girls kept disappearing. Perhaps they can be forgiven for packing heat. Perhaps the cops will understand! Well, it's not their problem, either way.)
Where is Tsubasa, though? Where could they have run to now? Ichika at least can guess pretty easily; the stretching shadows as the sun heads down to the horizon are shadowing the sides of those stairs, too. At the far side...
There they are, pressed against the brick, arms folded and grasping themself tightly as their chest heaves with the stress they're putting on their wrecked lungs. They're breathing heavily; they'd still pick a fight in a second, probably. They'll have a nasty bruise on their cheek for their efforts, after this, just like mom -- the difference is, Ripper's gonna be just as ugly the next morning.
But their darting gaze finds Ichika, instead -- and Ryuji, who kept up. The dark expression they're wearing before they realise who they're looking at -- violent in the manner of a cornered rat -- isn't something he's seen on their face before... if only because Phoenix's mask was covering their face, back then.
"Y... yeah, Boss," Tsubasa rumbles, and that pause is for them to take a breath that actually works for talking rather than out of any hesitation to listen; in a situation like this, she is still the Boss, clearly. The two of them, at least, understand that intuitively. They push off of the wall, and unlace their arms, hurrying up the stairs before the cops can get a minute free to come back out here looking for stragglers.
... luckily, Etsuko isn't on the station platform. She must have caught an earlier ride.
Double luckily, Tsubasa actually bought a ticket, today, so the ticket cops can't pull them up.
Some of the adults on the monorail do give them queer looks seeing the bruise blossoming beneath their fake tan... but Tsubasa glares at them, and they don't say anything. They make sure to put themself between Ichika and the crowd, too, so no one can play grab-ass in rush hour.
Once they're safely back in Iwatodai, Tsubasa stalks out behind the strip mall, collapsing onto a fire escape stairwell in the alleyway.
"Fuck, man," they groan, resting their head in their hands a moment. "Sorry. Sorry ya gotta see that."
Their mother, presumably. They're not all that ashamed of getting into fights.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji admits he likes the kind of girl who can take charge. The Thorn Boss was certainly that. He recalls the brief encounter with a smirk on his face. So cool.
"Thanks..." He follows Ichika as she leads him toward where they saw Tsubasa go.
He nods when they mention getting out of here. This makes him start to look around, hoping Ripper hasn't followed them or worse. "Yeah. It might be a good idea to get somewhere off this island." He isn't going to say this place is cursed but today was certainly giving him that impression.
As far as handling Tsubasa, Ryuji largely keeps a respectful distance since Ichika knows how to handle this better. I mean that is the right thing to do, right? Ryuji isn't sure he could make this better.
He follows along to the platform, keeping his eyes out for anything. After they get on the car, Ryuji spots the adults giving Tsubasa looks. Without even thinking, he throws up his middle finger. "Hey take a picture if you want to stare, creeps."
"You're fine...Don't gotta apologize." Ryuji finds a place to lean on, slouching as he gets comfortable. He lets a moment of silence hang there before he asks the million dollar question. "You ok?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
A fight can always help! Without knives. Knives are a problem. But Ichika is Ichika, and that means she can think about the punks back there later--not just now. Just now, she's got someone else to think about.
That expression isn't new to Ichika. But neither is having to get out fast. And soon, they're on the monorail... Tsubasa and Ryuji have the crowd covered, and Ichika stays on the inside, quiet. It reminds her of how bad Etsuko was--not just in terms of being bad to Tsubasa, but...
Iwatodai looms, and soon they're there.
Ichika stays standing, going near to Tsubasa. "Not your fault," Ichika agrees with Ryuji.
"...Sorry."
She wishes she could've handled it better, but she doesn't know how that would've been. She looks to Ryuji for a moment, and then back to Tsubasa. Ryuji has the right question...
"That was rough."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa, who's used to defending Ichika on public transport, is... really kind of touched to realise Ryuji's defending them, too. Expressing that would undercut his own tough guy act, though, so they just keep scowling on the trip out.
"... I ain't," they answer, for a million yen. (So can they get that through cash, or...) "I..."
They take a breath.
"... she said... they ain't mad at me no more. Like she didn't even... think she did it. Fuckin'... I dunno, man, maybe she was real high, don't even remember she did... ain't her fault," they insist, despite all she's said. "You see her makeup? He been beatin' on her again..."
Tsubasa swallows. "They got... bad ideas, man... they prejudiced." Some of those prejudices Tsubasa has recognised inside themself and tried to rid themself of, like the Sekis' anti-Korean sentiment; others they're still blind to, like their disdain for bastards. "She, uh... she was real hype to have a girl... had to fight my father," otou-sama, in contrast to the kaasan they use for Etsuko, "he wanted her to get rid a me when she got pregnant... that's why she keeps sayin' I'm a girl. Prolly... didn't work out for her too good... not doin' what he wanted back then. So... so like, it's complicated, man."
They fold their arms, grasping their elbows tightly.
"Why can't they jus' let me go, man...? They din' even want me... no way mom could have her way now, if she even still wants me." It's an open question, in their mind, even assuming that Hanzou put her up to it. "Fuck, I shoulda known they were startin' shit after she rang me up..."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji just kinda nods at the answer. He knew it before they said anything.
He looks up from where he is leaning, listening to Tsubasa bring up their parents. He offers only a grunt to acknowledge that he was in fact listening.
Finally, he just clicks his tongue and shakes his head. "Look, I'm sorry for her but she doesn't have a girl now either. It's your life, dude." He looks up at Tsubasa, offering a smile. "But it does suck she's getting hit...I wouldn't hit your mom but I'd probably blow my top at someone like your old man."
"Wait...she called you? Why didn't you say something, dude?" Ryuji blinks, looking to Ichika to see if she knew anything.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
They're not OK. That's fair enough to Ichika; she sure wouldn't be either. But then...
Well. Ichika is listening, too. "Fucked up," Ichika says of Tsubasa's mom. But what they say about the makeup, "Yeah, I saw it. She's in a rough one, too. ...I can't forgive her, even so."
But bad ideas, prejudices... Ichika listens, and nods. "But I get it. It's complicated. It's not like she put on her evil pants to go fuck up her kid. ...She's hurt, too."
Ryuji speaks up, and Ichika nods. "S'right. If she can't figure that out, that sucks for her. But it's the truth."
But she called--
"...She called?" Ichika wonders quietly.
But why?
No, Ichika didn't know. "I don't know," she answers, softly. "It's messed up, is what it is."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa shakes their head, hearing Ryuji say he'd blow his top at Hanzou. "D--don't, man. He's a legit fuckin' sadist... he wouldn't cut you a break, an' he'd make sure ya got blamed for it, too." ... which might sound really familiar.
They sink into themself a little further, as they realise they opened their stupid mouth about it. "It was... uh... she rang me on me birthday, but... was th' day before we hit th' Palace, someone I was countin' on kinda, tried to kill themself, an' that's before th' Joker Killer tried to kill a girl what was countin' on me... jus'... everyone else had more important shit goin' on," Tsubasa insists, chin to their chest, shoulders hunched forward. "Then we kicked Eiji's ass, an'... I-I dunno, I... I jus' didn't wanna make a big deal outta it."
... that would explain why they've been more maudlin over their family recently, though... the fact that all those awful things happened on their birthday is apparently just something they've shouldered and carried on.
"She don't got a girl, but... fuck, man, I feel bad," they admit.
"She said... she sent me a present, tho'. She... she knows where I'm stayin'... fuck, man," Tsubasa swallows, and they're the one who looks teary, now. "She said... said they did some stuff to get 'round Officer Shimizu... fuck does that mean? Ugh, guess th' cops 'round Sumaru are fuckin' dirty..."
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji looks at Tsubasa when they describe Kamoshida to a tee. That was the kind of guy who raised Tsubasa?! Shit.
Ryuji grimaces as he loses that drive. He couldn't afford to get another hit on his record. But this family was hitting all the buttons for Ryuji to just lose it.
He looks to Ichika for an answer, frowning as he is running out of answers for all of this. Was he just so unexperienced in the world?
"Dude...You don't gotta hold it back from us...Us especially. We're a team, remember?" Ryuji is doing his best to try to keep the situation from going off a cliff. He straighten up and moves toward Tsubasa.
"Look, whatever they did...we'll deal with. You got me and the other Phan--my gang behind you. All the way. I'm sure they'd agree too." Ryuji places a hand on them, smiling. "Look, we all are like someone's broken toys. All mistreated or kicked around. That's why we gotta stick together."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"I've met him," Ichika says to Ryuji. Her answer to him is to say, "Not the kind of guy we can handle like this. ...And..." Tsubasa, she is sure, doesn't want the Phantoms to handle him, either.
But birthday? Ichika looks in worry and alarm. "Tsubasa..." She never knew. But then--this second part she knows. This third part she heard about. "You're important too," ichika insists. "You're a big deal to me."
It explains a lot, though. The way they feel bad... but Ryuji mentions being a team, and it inspires Ichika to move forward, too. She doesn't touch directly; instead, she offers her hand to Tsubasa.
"I know you feel bad," she says. "But he's right. We can get through it together." She pauses, though. Teary... And--
"She said something about 'disabled child'," Ichika says. "Maybe something to do with the fact that we're still minors...? I dunno. Daddy would."
Yes, Ryuji. That's what she calls her father. Good luck!
"Maybe we should talk to him... See about what it means?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa comes from a whole family of monsters, apparently. They're just the youngest monster there.
Still... Ryuji reminds them that they're a team. He'll see them flinch when he lays his hand on their shoulder, but when they see him there they relax a little more, offering him a thin-lipped smile. "G--guess so. Jus'... I don't wanna fuck with him, man," which might explain why Ichika thinks they can't handle him, either. "I don't... ever wanna meet that guy's Shadow." The same thing Akechi warned them about; even knowing Akechi's bad news, they can't deny the logic.
"But you're right..." Tsubasa heaves a sigh, as they say, "we're all fuckin' wrecked. May as well be wrecked together. Y... yeah?"
To Ichika, though, they just look down and offer, "... sorry." They're a big deal to her. "It was jus'... too much shit... yeah?"
Ichika knows about their fears in some more depth; she offers her hand, instead of reaching for them so directly. It takes a bit longer for them to process they can reach for it, but they do, after a pause, reach out to grasp her hand too.
"... 'cuz a me burns, I guess," Tsubasa looks ashamed, when they think about how they've been classified as disabled. "Since they left me lungs fucked... an' me skin. Plus th' whole... psychosis shit, or whatever... all that shit how they said I was nuts. Thought I'd be okay, since I'm eighteen now... that's how they define kids in the law, like, I looked it up? Like, maybe they wouldn't feel like they had to keep up appearances so much after that... guess I was bein' optimistic."
Tsubasa bites at their cyan-painted lip, for a moment. "You don't... reckon he'd be bothered?" They ask, uncertainly. "I mean... if it ain't no trouble... yeah. Prolly... call th' gang up, too, Shuyo-kun an' th' Princess oughta both be back from th' country by now... see if they can tell us what's goin' on on th' ground. If they know where I live, like... it ain't safe, man. Jus' lucky I'm out here now... fuck, but what if they can find me out here? They got th' Sumaru cops on th' take... Tokyo cops ain't havin' their shit, but... these guys?"
They don't know, and that means they've already envisioned ten ways they might get dragged home before school ever starts up again. ... if they're paranoid, it's certainly a case that they have a lot to be paranoid about.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji winces when he sees Tsubasa flinch. He is glad he is helping but man is this already worrying him in the back of his head. What kind of person could freak out Tsubasa this bad? "You're gonna know better than me jus--man, this is getting real real quick. If we're not going to include the others, we should figure out what to do"
He is sure that is rather obvious but he is out of out of the box thinking for the moment.
Ryuji just kinda stands there, watching as Tsubasa is already in crisis mode, attempting to predict where their family was going to come for them next.
He sighs and thinks for a moment. "I dunno if I have space at my place, otherwise I'd say you could hunker down in Tokyo for a bit."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika can explain to Ryuji later about the flinch--and why the fact that they relaxed is a sure sign that things are at least better with him. "I understand," Ichika says. "Well, they said it's gotta be unanimous," she says, looking to Ryuji, "Right? ...So don't worry about us running off and doing shit you don't want." Back to Tsubasa. "You don't have to think about that right now. We'll decide what to tell the others later."
She thinks they should at least mention it's an issue, though. But...
Well. They can be wrecked together. "Yeah," Ichika answers. "Yeah, we can. And it's..." Too much shit. "That's fine. "I get it. You still answered when I called, right?" Yelled, more like.
"Right... It's not like the cops know what really went down with those, yet. ...It's that much more reason for us to keep looking, right?" To clear Tsubasa's name like this, too. But...
Hrm.
"No," Ichika asys, "He won't be bothered. Talk to the gang. And stay with me again tonight. If nothing else, they're not gonna try anything below board at my parents' place."
The Port Island cops... "I dunno, your dad have any Kirijo connections?" Ichika wonders. "Kirijo Group owns everything out here. Daddy's at a Kirijo hospital, too."
A look to Ryuji. "I'm glad you thought of it," she says, and reaches out to take his hand, too, squeezing both.
"Guess we gotta handle it. Ryuji-kun... If Tsubasa's cool with it, can you just tell the others we've got something to take care of for the next couple days? I mean, I guess I could text them myself, but..."
But tell Joker is what she's really thinking. "Don't ahve to go into detail yet. But we are all friends, now--I wanna lean on our friends when you feel like we can, OK?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"I... I ain't sayin' not to tell 'em or nothin'. Jus'... they gon' wan' change his heart, yeah?" Tsubasa ventures, given they're all thinking it. "An' I... I don't... know what he looks like when he ain't like this. He always been like this, jus'... weren't so loud 'bout it, before. Like... ethically, like..."
If you enact a Change of Heart on someone whose abuse seems to predate any kind of distortion... what does that look like? Who do they become? Where did the distortion start, if it's been so long?
They're not questions Tsubasa's prepared to answer; they're scared of what answering them would say about them.
"... look, jus'... me brother Kiyoshi-san's tryin' to become a doctor," they explain, finally. (And they say that as onii-sama, too; he's their older brother.) "Been his plan since we was kids. Takes a lotta money... lotta support. If I send my father to jail... I'm jus' wreckin' th' family again. Yeah...?"
Tsubasa shakes their head. "Dunno 'bout Kirijo," they admit. "But me father weren't based here, originally... we were in Tokyo. So... maybe not...?"
They swallow, looking from Ryuji to Ichika. "Y--yeah," they say, their voice hitching. "School ain't back 'til Monday... got a couple days we can stay here still. P-prolly they ain't gon' find me, prolly." They don't sound... entirely convinced, but they're trying. "Th' others can tell us what's goin' on back home, an'... an' we'll figure it out. Kinda hope I don't gotta hide out in another city, tho'... said I weren't gon' skip school or nothin'..."
Well, Tsubasa can say they're going to clean up their act, but then they run off and assault a guy out of nowhere!
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
Ryuji squeezes Ichika's hand, nodding as she reassures him. He rubs the bridge of his nose and nods. "Gotcha. I'll let them know." He says, nodding his head gain as he tries to really process all of this.
Tsubasa's dad seemed...dangerous. Like turbo Kamoshida. It was enough to give him some pause on all of this. Still he couldn't let things stand like this. Something was going to have to change and Ryuji would be damned if it was Tsubasa.
He considers making a joke about them running off together again but decides to let that be for when the world wasn't trying to destroy Tsubasa.
Ryuji stops when they explain their father further. "I don't know...but I also don't know what else we can do...Like what if what he has is something we haven't dealt with before? Like we don't know a lot but we aren't going to figure it out by just avoiding it either."
"Look we just gotta get you to Ichika's car and we should be good for tonight." Ryuji offers, trying to remain positive.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Thanks."
"I get it," Ichika says. "But we don't have to do anything in particular yet other than keep you safe, OK?" she says. "That's all we gotta worry about right now." Wrecking the family. ...Of course.
"We'll figure it out," she says then to Ryuji, a little more firmly. "But right now, Tsuabsa's safety right this moment is what's important. ...You're not gonna have ot hide out in some other city. I'll make sure of that."
How? Well, don't ask. She's going to figure that out, too.
"We got a couple days, yeah." Ichika then offers Tsubasa that hand to get up. "...Yeah. Let's go home," Ichika says.
"Ryuji-kun, you gonna be OK to get back to Iwatodai Station from here? ...I'd offer to bring you, but..."
"You probably don't wanna meet my parents while we're busy hashing this out."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Men of the Order are terribly dangerous, as a rule.
... those climbing the ladder, even moreso.
Can someone like Tsubasa ever be safe, stepping out of line like this...?
Still, Ryuji says they can't avoid it. Tsubasa thinks they really want to, though; they told Ichika, already, how fond they were of running from their problems. ... but they can't do that any more, can they?
Still... Ryuji has good, actionable advice for right now, and that's what finally shakes Tsubasa out of their grim silence as they chase their thoughts. "Y--yeah," they say, taking Ichika's hand to stand up. "... prolly work fine as an impression," they mutter, when Ichika points out that he probably doesn't want to make that kind of impression. "Worked for me... guess I ain't their kid, tho'. Safer not to... uh, just out th' alleyway, that way, hang a right," they offer him directions to get back to the station, which isn't hard, because the strip mall they've hidden out behind is attached to the station.
"An'... thanks, bro," they add, to Ryuji. "Saw... what you was doin'. Counts for somethin'. Yeah?"
They grasp Ichika's hand, tightly. "C'mon... lessgo. Don't... like bein' outside right now."
... they'll at least be safe at the Kawase's.
<Pose Tracker> Ryuji Sakamoto has posed.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Ryuji states plainly, wishing he could go with them. He sighs as he resigns himself to going back home while all of this cooks in the background.
"Yeah, just get to somewhere safe and lets figure this out. You got my number to text me if you need something." Ryuji says as he starts to move toward the exit of the train car. He looks at Ichika and forces a smile. He really wished their dates didn't get this dramatic sometimes. He moves back toward Ichika, leaning in to kiss her the cheek. "Hey. I love you. Let me know you guys are safe later." He blushes very slightly as he moves back toward the exit, waiting for the stop.
Ryuji nods at Tsubasa. "Heh..Yeah. I just felt lame is all. Telling someone to stop fighting and all like some kinda geezer." He grins at the thought.
After reaching the stop, Ryuji exits out into evening, digging his hands into his pockets. He wants to be chipper but he finds himself frowning. "Damnit...I might need to let the others know whats going on."